Electric switch



March 13, 1956 M. ROTEMAN 2,738,401

ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed July 15, 1955 MORE/8 ROTEMAN,

IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEK.

United States Patent 2,738,401 ELECTRIC SWITCH Morris Roteman, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 13, 1953, Serial No. 367,607 5 Claims. (Cl. 200168) in thesingle plate which is formed with apertures for pass' ing screws for mounting the plate to the wall. To securely anchor the single plate to the wall, it is preferred that the mounting screws be anchored in a stud disposed behind the stucco layer. The mounting of such fittings to stucco walls by screws driven into the blind stud entails laborious groping or probing with the screws to cate the stucco covered stud. Even the practice of sounding for the stud by striking the .wall with a hammeror the like seldom locates the stud accurately.

Aside from the time consuming nature of this practice, there was always the likelihood especially when long brass screws are used, of the same being stripped or burred as they are driven through the stucco layer. In some instances several screws are damaged beyond use before the blind stud is located and the necessary mounting screws properly driven home into the stud.

If the plate is mounted to the stuccowall by. relatively short screws merely anchored in the stucco itself, they soon loosen and the plate fails to remain inplace. Further the loosened plate permits entrance of rain into the switch cavity in the wall to produce short-circuiting and deterioration of the switch and the terminal leads con-- nected thereto.

In order to ameliorate these and other disadvantages of prior practice, this invention provides a fitting which. obviates the employment of screws as both probes and fasteners and by the use of simple driven fasteners, such as nails togetherwith a base plate through which they may be driven at any angle'necessary to find the stud, provides a mounting element to which the cover plate can be-easily secured. The present invention thus provides a fixture adapted for ready attachment to a blind stud or the like through a hard surfacedlayer of substantially any thickness without repetitive operations and without loss or damage to the mounting screws.

More specifically, the illustrated embodiment of the fixture of the present invention comprises a pair of oblong plates, a base plate and a cover plate, which are adapted to be arranged in mutually facewise confronting relationship and in facewise spaced disposition.

The base plate is provided with a pair of slots lying adjacent opposite edges thereof and which'extend breadth wise of the plate for receiving nailsor the like which are to be driven through the stucco and into the stud. A pair-of tappedapertures are also provided in this plate and are adapted to receive relatively short mounting screws passed through apertures formed in the cover plate 'which also forms a supporting container for the switch.

tion will be hereinafter apparent from the following de-' scription, particularly when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a fragmentary, vertical section through a stuccoed outer wall of a house, taken before the installation of the present fixture and showing the electrical leads rough-wired alongside a stud (shown in side view or side elevation) and with their terminals held temporarily in place in the aperture in the stucco by means of a nail to be removed by the installer of the fixture of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section of this wall with the rough-wiring nail removed and with the wiring connected to the novel fixture, the latter in turn being firmly fixed to the stud;

Figure 3 is a section taken along line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is an expanded perspective view of the fixture with one of the major parts fixed to a fragment of the wall, and omitting the two plate-uniting screws.

The fitting of the present invention is particularly useful in mounting a switch to a stucco wall such as illustrated in Figure l of the drawing. The figure depicts a wall of a building constituted in part by a wooden stud or riser 10 and asurfacing laminate that includes a stucco layer ll extending between adjacent studs. The material forming the layer 11, when applied, is formed with a recess or depression 12 intended to receive the switch body to be mounted to the wall.

In the usual building practice today, and before the layer 11 is applied, electricians, in rough wiring the building, run leads 13 up alongside the stud 10 and the terminal ends 14 thereof are wrapped around a nail 15 driven into the stud 10. The nail, removed at the time the switch is mounted, is used merely as a temporary anchoring and locating means for the terminals 14 to facilitate the mounting of the switch subsequent to the application of the stucco layer.

in some cases, the workmen applying the stucco layer dislodge the nail 15 from the stud so that the exact location of the stud is not known at the time the switch is applied to the finished stucco layer. In other instances, although the nail 15 remains in place after the layer of stucco is applied, it is loosened or bent and fails to accurately locate the positionof the blind stud. Either one of these contingencies complicates the mounting of the switch, particularly if the switch is to be securely mounted by anchoring the mounting screws into the blind stud.

closing switch device carried by one of the present novel fixtures and the latter in turn quickly and easily anchored to the blind stud through the layer of hard stucco.

To the latter end, the fixture of the present invention comprises an inner or base plate 16 of rectangular form' adapted to fit facewise against the outer face of the stucco layer 11 overlying the'depression 12 formed in the latter. The plate 16 is essentiallya fixture positioning and cover supporting member and to these ends is provided with 1 a pair of elongate apertures orslots 17 extending breadth- MSG-Ofthfi plate as Lslibwn'in'Figure 4, and disposed preferably..neantheadjacent shortedgesofithe-plate. The walls of each of the slots ori'apertures 17 are smooth and freely pass therethrough at least one nail 18 or other simple percussiontdriven fastener. As the slOts f7 are of a size-sufficient -to each pass a 1 relatively large nail, the .plate 16 is easily 'and quickly mou'nte'd in-'position on the surface of -the wall. This is"so for thenailsusd can. beian'gledtowards the stud and-urivenhome thereitito usuallyrat thetfirst attempt, but if they do "n'ot'fst'rike the stud, they can be easily removed without damage to them crime: stucco; ands redriven at a'nothe'r angle or other posi' m 31 :thersl'ots .to i'securely :mount the plate 16 mflyimposition over the-recess 12.

The plate 16 is provided =withza.centrally formed aperig-adapted to pass-a"push button switch 20 ca'rried b n aouter or:facing plate 21. The s'wit'ch 20 can be mounted tothe plate 21 m any1mariner desiredarid may, as herein shown, he merely press fitted -into "the openthe .invention :herein :shown, the aperture l9 a'rid the mounting opening22 are each-illustrated as circular, but as should be understood the size and shape th'ereof depends on the size and shape of the swit'ch20 mounted to the covertplate 21. -It can be rnentioned here, as best seen in Figure 3, that the defining 'edges of'the aperture 19 also act to support the inner:end offthe switch#20. The switch 20 projects into the recess '12 formed-in'the layer 11 in which the terminals of leads 13 are disposed and which are to 1 be connected :to the *switch.

The coverplate 21 is just slightly larger than' thesplate 16 and like plate 16 is alsolpreferablyelongat'ere'ctangular in planform. The plate21 carries arperipheral flange 23 directed inwardlytoward the periphery of plate 16-and this flange presents-an opening substantially the same-size and'shape'as palte 16. The plate 21 with its internal fiangelS, as best seen in Figure 3, presents a box-like container for-receiving the plate-16. Thus theflange 23, as shown in1Figure 3, engages about the peripheral edge of the .plate 16 and abuts against the outer face of the stucco layer 11.

Plate -21 is,provided with a pairof apertures 24 so arranged therein to registerwith tapped apertures 25 formed in the plate 16 when the two plates are assembled as shown in Figure 3. The apertures 24 are preferably countersunk to receive the heads of mounting screws 26, the shanks of which are threadedly engaged in the apertures 25 of the. plate 16. Thus it will be seen that the screws-26 are used to secure the cover plate 22 to the base plate 16 and to pressurely urge the edge-face of the- Before the screws 26 are tightened to mount the plate 22, the terminal ends 14 of the conductors 13 are cleaned and attached ina conventional manner to binding posts 27 of the switch 20. Once this connection has been established, the plate 21 is mounted to the base plate 16 through the screws '26, as above described.

It will'now be seenthat the plate 21 actually forms a box-like receptacle which carries and encloses all but the'actuator button 28 of the switch-2t). Thus the switch and particularly its binding. posts and the terminal ends 14 of the leads 13 connected thereto are. protected against deterioration from the weather. As the screws 26, when tightened, pressurely urge the flange 26 tightly against the stucco wall, a very eific'ient weather seal is provided which will prevent rain running downwardly over theouter surface of the wall 11 from entering the switch housing.

It should now be seen that the fitting of the present inventionprovides means for mounting a house service switch to astucco or. plastered wall without the diflicult-ies heretofore experienced. .-The fitting, furthermoraas above explained insures a longer serv-i'ce' life for the switch mountedthereby-as well as the-terminal leads ofthe circuit controlled bythe switch.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and "described herein, it' is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto, for it is susceptible to changes in form and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

I. claim:

1. A device of the type described to be mounted at an external recess in a structural wall having an outer layer of stucco over a frame including vertical studs, comprising: a rectangular plate member wider and longer than said recess, said plate'memberhaving a relatively large centrally located opening therein and a transverse elongate slot formed'adjacenteachof the upper and lower ends of the plate centrally thereof, said slots passing nails at the required angle of drive to extend through said outer layer into one of said studs thereby to securely fix said plate facewise to said wall; a rectangular cover element including an inturned marginal flange for enclosing said plate member adjacentits four edges; means for securing said cover element to said plate 'rrieniber with the flange of the former engaging said wall; and "a switch, including a body element and'an actuator element, carried by said cover element, said switch'bodyretractablyextending into said'centrally located opening of the plate member with the-actuator member accessiblefor manual operation extcriorly of saiddevice.

2. A'device of'the type described to'be mounted at'au external recess in a structural wall'having an'outer layer of stucco over 'a frame including 've'rtical studs, comprising: 'a plate member-having a relatively 'large centrally located opening therein with transverse elongate 'slots formed on opposite sides of said opening and adjacent each of the upper and lower ends ofsaid plate; said slots passing nails at the required angle of drive to extend through said outer layer into one of said -'studs"thereby to fix said plate facewise to said wall;are'ctangular cover element-including a marginal flange for enclosing said plate member; means fo'r securing said 'cover element to said plate member and pressurely engaging the edge face of said flange against said wall surface adjacent the marginal'edges ofsaid plate; and a'switch including an act-tiator button mounted to saidcover element and extending into said'centrally located opening ofsaid plate member and partially supported by the defining edges thereof.

3. A device of the type described to -'be mountedat an external recess in a structural wall having an outer layer of stucco over a frame'inclu'ding vertical studsjcomprising: aiplate member wider and longer than-said recess,

said plate member having a relatively large centrally located I opening therein and a transverse elongate slot formed adjacent each of the upper and lower ends thereof,

said slots passing nails 'at the required angle of drive-toextend through said outer layer into one of said studs thereby to fix'said platefacewise to said wall; a box-like cover. element 'of asize and shape for'enclosing'said'plate member;jmeans securing said cover element about said plate member including means for mounting said-cover member to said plate member, whereby the former is 'aflixed to said wall; and'a switch having wallscompletely enclosing the mechanism of the switch from the sides and back thereof, said switch including an -actuatorbutton, said switch being mounted to said cover element and extending into said centrally located opening of saidplate member and partially supported by the defining edges thereof.

4. A device of the type described ,to be mounted at an external recess in a structural wall havingan outer layer of stucco over a frame including vertical studs, comprising: a rectangular plate member having a relativelylarge centrally located opening therein and a'transverseelongate slotformed adjacent each of the upper and lower ends thereof-,said slots passing nails at the required-angle of-drive to extend through said outer layer into'oneof said studs thereby to fix said plate facewise'to said wall;

a rectangular cover element including'a marginal flange V for enclosing said plate member; said cover element being formed with spaced apertures registering with tapped openings formed in said plate; mounting screws passed through said apertures and threadedly engaged in said tapped opening for securing said cover element to said plate member; and a switch, including an actuator button, mounted to said cover element and extending into said centrally located opening of said plate member and partially supported by the defining edges thereof, said mounting screws adapted to draw the edge face of said flange against the contiguous wall surface to provide a weather seal.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said plate has tapped openings and said cover has apertures registering therewith; and which includes mounting screws passed through said aperture: and threadedly engaged in said tappedopenings for securing said cover to the plate member and for drawing the cover adjustably into pressure contact in said outer layer of stucco.

Edwards Aug. 22, 1939 Wiggins Dec. 11, 1951 

